Haunting on Fraternity Row (3/5)

Haunting on Fraternity Row is a new horror movie on Netflix. And actually, it’s surprisingly good with both funny and creepy moments. I didn’t expect much, but this is definitely worth watching. On Netflix in the US now!

Haunting on Fraternity Row is a horror movie on Netflix. And sure, the title pretty much tells you everything about the plot, but that’s just the setting. The content of the story is surprisingly solid.

The characters are funny and engaging with only one or two characters being complete douches. Okay, just one major bitch really. The rest of the fraternity and sorority people are all either entertaining or downright likable.

That certainly isn’t something you’d expect from a movie on Netflix called Haunting on Fraternity Row. But here we are!

Fraternity boys and their pledges

The best thing about Haunting of Fraternity Row on Netflix is its characters. From the very beginning of the movie, you’ll get intrigued. Sure, it seems like the obvious mostly-white-frat-boy-house, but there’s more to these guys.

First of all, they’re not psycho-hard on the pledges, which was a pleasant surprise. Sure, they get demeaning chores and are treated like sh*t most of the time. In that sense, it is the exact opposite of Pledge which was also a good movie in this genre (without the supernatural element).

In Haunting of Fraternity Row, the hazing is mostly in the spirit of “we did this and it’s part of the journey”. Rather than wanting to punish the next generation for what they went through themselves. Also, this ensures that the pledges actually want to help out when things go wrong.

More importantly, it’s the perfect way to explain why we have all of this POV footage in Haunting of Fraternity Row. The pledges have been given the task of recording everything that goes on at the final Luau at the Frat house. So, of course, the cameras goes everywhere!

Loved the performances

I ended up having quite a few favorite characters. Most of them were the frat boys in the starring roles. They’re portrayed by Jacob Artist (Quantico), Ashton Moio (Teen Wolf), Cameron Moulène, and Jayson Blair (12 Deadly Days).

Especially Jayson Blair was a positive surprise as the most stereotypical frat boy, who ended up delivering more than expected. He was funny as hell and had some of the best moments.

So did Molly Tarlov (MTV’s Awkward) as the sorority girl, Maggie. Damn, now that’s who I would want on my side in the fight against anyone.

Basically, everything about the characters and overall style of Haunting on Fraternity Row worked really well. Except for the CGI moments. Sorry, that was just weird. The creature demon looked like a weak Babadook copy. And you don’t mess with the Babadook-dook-dook.

Watch Haunting on Fraternity Row on Netflix now!

Haunting on Fraternity Row is directed by Brant Sersen, who also co-wrote the script with Jeff Cahn. It was the feature film debut for Jeff Cahn, while Brant Sersen already has a few feature films behind him. This could explain why this has turned out as well as it has.

There’s already another untitled thriller from Brant Sersen in post-production, which I’m certainly interested in watching now. The only “real” issue I had with his latest horror movie on Netflix was the CGI elements and the fact that it’s a bit too long. Nothing that ruins the overall experience, but trimming off 10 minutes would have improved it.

I really didn’t expect much from this movie, but the current IMDb rating of just 3.8 is grossly understating this movie! Don’t let this decide whether you should watch it. It has humor, interesting characters and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

Also, there’s a lot of death and blood, so it has that going as well. Now that it’s on Netflix, I expect the IMDb rating will quickly go up as people give it a chance and realize it’s a pretty damn entertaining watch!

Haunting on Fraternity Row is out on Netflix in the US from March 1, 2019.

Plot

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!

About The Author

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!